Jeanette Hyer PhD

Assistant Adjunct Professor of Neurological Surgery

Principal Investigator, Brain Tumor Research Center

Dr. Hyer's research program examines the role of the embryonic environment on the cell biology and behavior of primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) types by using medullosblastoma tumor cell lines and introducing them into early embryonic chick brain tissue. Results have indicated that the tumor cells migrate throughout the developing neuroepithelium in a directed manner that she is currently characterizing with regard to potential signals. Dr. Hyer is working to characterize this cell behavior and correlate it with known signals that promote migration and tumor-cell biology. Future studies in this research program will expand these techniques to other PNETs, including retinoblastoma, in an effort to determine if the embryonic environment provides a correction of malignant behavior. This novel xenograft model system may uniquely allow for characterizing the migration and invasion behavior of various tumor types, including primary tumor cells.